EUROPEAN partners involved in the Loran C radio navigation project are considering Wales as an alternative to Clare, following last month's Supreme Court ruling which rejected the Irish location.
The Supreme Court ruling by a three two majority found the Commissioners of Irish Lights did not have the power to erect the radio mast.
The proposed Loran C system was an aid to navigation for ships and aircraft, and extended far beyond the Irish Lights remit under the 1894 Merchant Shipping Act, the court said. The mast was not a lighthouse, buoy or beacon defined in that Act.
The Department of the Marine, which commissioned Irish Lights to erect the 720 foot mast on the Loop Head peninsula as part of an international agreement signed in 1992, is still studying the Supreme Court judgment. It has not had a formal meeting with Irish Lights to consider the implications.
A shift to Wales would have to be agreed by all European partners involved, but the geometry" of that location might not suit.
Loran C was adopted by nine European states as a uniform, land based, civilian navigation network in an attempt to reduce dependence on the US designed satellite system, known as GPS. France and the Netherlands agreed to contribute 50 per cent and 5 per cent respectively of the cost of the mast. Both countries have already paid Ireland some £1.5 million towards the construction.
The ruling not only affects the mast project - which aroused considerable opposition in Co Clare - but delays development of this navigational network throughout northern Europe.
A spokesman for the French embassy said no country would give a public response to the Supreme Court decision unilaterally.
The implications would be discussed by all parties involved, he said.
Significantly, the ruling also classifies as illegal most of the radio based navigation aids introduced by Irish Lights to improve marine safety over the last half century.
Radio beacons, differential global positioning systems (GPS), radar beacons, radar enhancers and the widely used Decca navigator system are affected.
The self financing lighthouse service relies on dues paid by ships. But with development of electronic aids, large vessels no longer need lighthouses to guide them, and shipping companies have been exerting pressure on the service in Britain and Ireland to cut costs.
The contract to set up Loran C proved opportune, when first mooted four years ago. So far the controversy has cost the State over £350,000 in expert costs, while storage of the structure has cost £23,000.
